Sharks vs. Rangers Preview: San Jose starts New York back to back
New York: A good possession team?
Two games into the season the New York Rangers are a top-five possession team in the NHL, which, uh, means a whole lot less than being in the top five with two games remaining. Still, despite losing to the St. Louis Blues on Saturday night the Rangers played a very nice possession game and were hung out to dry by Blues’ netminder Jake Allen.
Whether the Rangers have turned a page or if this is a fluke remains to be seen, but prepare for the possibility of a New York team not totally dependent on Henrik Lundqvist saving their bacon. Speaking of Lundqvist, it hasn’t been a great start to the season for the King.
Lundqvist has allowed six goals on 46 shots for an .870 save percentage through two games. The Sharks certainly hope his bounce back game doesn’t come tonight.
San Jose looks for a three-game win streak to start the season after a convincing win over Los Angeles and a slightly less convincing victory against Columbus. Special teams has been a slight concern for the Sharks early on as the penalty kill didn’t look all that good against either the Jackets or the Kings.
Since this is the first game of a back-to-back there’s a chance we’ll see Aaron Dell play tonight, though I expect Pete DeBoer to play him tomorrow night against the Islanders. Also keep an eye on Ryan Carpenter’s status, but don’t expect him to dress until the Sharks lose their first game.
This will be the Sharks’ only trip to Madison Square Garden this season — enjoy it!
| Game 1 | ||
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| Monday, October 17, 2016 — 4 p.m. PT | ||
| Madison Square Garden — New York, New York, USA | ||
| Get the Rangers perspective at Blueshirt Banter | ||
| How to Watch / Listen In San Jose | ||
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| Stats and Figures | ||
| 2-0-0 | Record | 1-1-0 |
| 1st in Pacific | Standings | 4th in Metropolitan |
| 54.64% | Even Strength, Score-Adj. Fenwick | 58.07% |
| 103.5 | PDO | 96.61 |
| 25.0 | PP% | 14.3 |
| 33.3 | PK% | 87.5 |